Numerical prediction of augmented turbulent heat transfer in an annular fuel channel with repeated two-dimensional square ribs Original Research Article

The square-ribbed fuel rod for high temperature gas-cooled reactors was designed and developed so as to enhance the turbulent heat transfer in comparison with the previous standard fuel rod. The turbulent heat transfer characteristics in an annular fuel channel with repeated two-dimensional square ribs were analysed numerically on a fully developed incompressible flow using the k−ϵ turbulence model and the two-dimensional axisymmetrical coordinate system. Numerical analyses were carried out under the conditions of Reynolds numbers from 3000 to 20000 and ratios of square-rib pitch to height of 10, 20 and 40 respectively. The predictions of the heat transfer coefficients agreed well within an error of 10% for the square-rib pitch to height ratio of 10, 20% for 25% for 40 respectively, with the heat transfer empirical correlations obtained from the experimental data due to the simulated square-ribbed fuel rods. Therefore it was found that the effect of heat transfer augmentation due to the square ribs could be predicted by the present numerical simulations and the mechanism could be explained by the change in the turbulence kinematic energy distribution along the flow direction.